The 1996 presidential campaign of

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

, consumer advocate and political activist, began after he was drafted as a candidate for

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on the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

ticket during the 1996 presidential election. Nader was not formally nominated by the national party or the

Green Party USA The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was a political organization formed out of the Green Committees of Correspondence in 1991 and was recognized as a national political party by the FEC from 1991 to 2005. It was based in Chicago. '' Synthesis/ ...

organization, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties. In some states, he appeared on the ballot as an

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Background

Although Nader was not formally nominated by the national Green Party, a significant number of the party's members and supporters backed his presidential bid. Several of them actively campaigned for him. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states, garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall), although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for

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reporting requirements; the unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.

Criticism

Nader received some criticism from

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supporters for calling gay rights "gonad politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters. However, more recently, Nader has come out in support of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

Running mates

Instead of Nader having one running mate on all ballots on which he appeared, the women's caucus of the Green Party decided that a slate of women would run who would act as a cabinet of advisers for his campaign. Nader's multiple running mates included: Anne Goeke (14 states), Deborah Howes (Oregon), Muriel Tillinghast (New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and

Winona LaDuke Winona LaDuke (born August 18, 1959) is an American environmentalist, writer, and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for vice president ...

(California and Texas). However most political election websites dispute this and have LaDuke as his running mate in most of the states he ran in.

Ballot access

Nader attained ballot status in 22 states.

Events

A long term Green catch-phrase came out of the 1996 nominating convention. During Nader's acceptance speech, the crowd started to chant "Go Ralph Go!" to which Nader, appearing uncomfortable, gestured for silence and said "the intonation should be 'Go we Go'." The crowd obliged and the phrase "gowego" became a part of Green history.''Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens'' By Greta Gaard, page 241

References